This invention relates to new and useful improvements in hoe or scraper devices designed particularly for use with dump trunk boxes incorporating a tailgate and a tailgate opening located centrally thereof and adjacent the base.
When such boxes are elevated to the dumping position, grain or the like normally flows out through the opening into an auger hopper whereupon it is augered up into a storage facility or the like.
As the truck box empties, a considerable amount of grain lodges in each rear lower corner of the box and conventionally, the operator stands on the sloping auger tube so that he can reach over the top of the truck box, with a shovel, in order to dislodge such grain.
Considerable danger exists in that the operator may slip from the auger tube. Furthermore, due to the inclination of the auger tube, there is a further danger that one or both feet of the operator may engage within the open rotating pickup portion of the auger assembly.
Also, in order to reach the grain from the upper side of the truck box, the conventional tarpaulin has to be removed at least partially, which further adds to the time required to unload the truck box.
The present invention overcomes difficulties encountered in the cleaning out of truck boxes when dumping grain or the like and which eliminates the necessity of removing the tarpaulin cover either partially or fully.
In accordance with the invention there is provided a hoe or scraper for use in cleaning out grain from the lower rear corners of a dump truck box when in the dump position, said truck box including a substantially centrally located tailgate opening in the base of said tailgate assembly; said hoe or scraper comprising an elongated handle and a scraper blade secured by one end thereof and extending transversely upon at least one side of said handle, said blade being arcuately curved for at least part of the length thereof whereby the distal end of such blade is situated closer to the other end of said handle than the point of attachment of said one end of said handle to said blade, said scraper being engagable through the associated tailgate opening and into either of the rear corners of said truck box.
Another advantage of the invention is that the dislodgining of the grain in the corners is undertaken readily and easily with the operator standing well clear of the rotating pickup portion of the auger assembly.
Another advantage of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which, due to the formation thereof, assists in engaging the distal end of the blade into the bottom rear corners of the truck box as it is pulled through the grain mass.
Still another advantage of the invention is that it is designed to stand upright upon the blade with the handle extending vertically so that is may be used as a guide when backing the truck towards the auger assembly.
One of the advantages of this invention is the provision of a relatively short straight extension of the blade on the opposite side of the handle which can be used to scrap grain from the box when a relatively small opening is provided.
A still further advantage of the invention is to provide a device which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture and otherwise well suited to the purpose for which it is designed.